h a l f b a k e r yWhy not imagine it in a way that works?
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A cell phone like device that simply makes and receives phone calls.
The space and weight saved by removing all unneeded gadgetry can be used for a more powerful antenna and longer life batteries.
Imagine the envy of those around you when you make a four hour long phone call from the bottom floor
of the parking garage while all they can do is play tetris and take blurry photographs of their genitalia.
Even better - no bulky keypad.
http://www.digi-hel...s/firefly-phone.asp
Of course, you can only call your mom and your dad. [Worldgineer, Jun 28 2006]
Rotary dial cell phone.
http://www.sparkfun...portable-rotary.htm
Here, make one. [nihilo, Jun 28 2006]
NEW DESIGN
http://www.theguard...don-design-festival
Incredible new design that reverts to the phones of the noughties. [theleopard, Sep 22 2015]
[link]
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Hey, don't try to take bread out of a guy's mouth! |
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Text and picture messaging1 |
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Send up to 3 linked messages with up to 459 characters of text1 |
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8 picture message templates and 8 text message templates |
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Stopwatch and countdown timer |
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Date and time screen saver |
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Xpress-on™ color covers (sold separately) |
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Compose your own ring tones |
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Downloadable ring tones and picture messages1 |
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2 games: Snake II and Space Impact II |
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I have this odd feeling that a minimalist phone such as you describe would probably cost quite a lot. The world tends to work like that. |
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[Worldengineer] Nope, that isn't it. Need a keyboard to make phone calls. But only ten buttons for numbers. Plus one to answer or end a call. Oh, I would like one really fancy feature which is not on many phones, volume control. But I can do without that. |
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[ Galbinus_Caeli ] - but no camera, colour screen, mp3 player etc...(ie the Battery-destroying stuff) |
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The extra 'gadgets' here as mainly in the form of software... |
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Apart from the LED flashlight.... |
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But you're right it's not quite there....(although it does only need charging once every 7-10 days) |
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[GC], every phone i've ever had has a
volume control. it works on the volume
of the ring tone, the volume of the
speaker during calls, and the volume of
all those irritating little beeps
independantly. |
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the firefly phone linked is a stupid idea.
if you can't trust your kids with a cell
phone, then why can you trust them
with an ipod or a playstation, or
expecially, to go places where they
might need a phone. i didn't read all the
way through it, but it also doesn't look
like you can dial emergency services
with it. one of the more useful features
of a cell phone isn't even included then
because you know kids, can't trust them
with anything. always running around
and screaming, when you were a kid
you were much better behaved. heck,
you don't know what's gotten into kids
these days, they just won't listen to
their elders. when it was you, you had a
good reason to ignore anyone over
thirty, they were wrong. |
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[Monojohnny] Still adds pointness complication. I want my phone optimized to make and recieve phone calls. To do this I only need eleven buttons. Adding more stuff just makes it more difficult to do what I want to do with my phone 99% of the time. |
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[tcarson] My new phone (and one of the two inspirations for this bit of nonsense, the other being "Charlie") does not have a useable volume control. It is a Nokia 9030. To change the volume, I have to be on a call. Then I have to take the phone away from my ear then press the sides of a button to adjust it up and down. then put the phone back to my ear, ask my caller to say something, then repeat until a usable volume is achieved. |
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well then, you are justified in asking for a
volume control, i suggest you check your
manual first. it's usually buried in the
profile settings somewhere. |
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The other part of this phone is how many steps it takes to make a phone call. |
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1) Take phone from pocket or belt clip. |
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2) Press center button to turn on the screen. |
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3) Press the cancel button several times to clear the screen back to the base state. |
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5) Find and press the "make the call" button. |
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6) Wait for person to answer. |
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7) Tell them to hang on while I adjust the volume. |
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8) Hold phone away from ear, uncovering the buttons. |
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9) press buttons to adjust volume. |
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10) Order the damned pizza. |
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[tcarson] It is not mentioned in the manual. I had to search the web to find a chat room post about it to find out how to adjust the volume at all. Now I can actually use it, but it is damned difficult. (And no, this is not my first cell phone. My first cell phone was in 1994. I have had about a half dozen since. Each one more feature smeared than the last.) |
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//one of the two inspirations for this bit of nonsense, the other being "Charlie"// - Sorry [Galbinus], would that be the fulzele or the powdered variety? |
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sounds like what you need is a basic motorola Star Tac. Simple, rugged, reliable and very space efficient(smaller than my new razr). It rang like a phone had wicked volume range, massive battery life and pretty darn good reception. I think it had a basic phonebook system and maybe a little calculator or something but that was it. Too bad they discontinued it. |
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[wagster] Snort! Our recent baker of interesting grammar, not any sort of chemical inducement. (Except caffine) |
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[homrighaus] Well I am replacing a Motorla 60i. Too bad my companie's plan no longer supports it. |
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Ideally this no-frills phone would be made by Bose and be advertised on NPR and in Harper's and The Nation - selling for $1000 or so. Within a year Bose would release one with an automatic redial button for $1200. |
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This idea sounds exactly like what they use to have. I don't think most phone companies would go for this, because then they wouldn't be able to charge people for all the extra stuff. |
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My dad had one of these about 10 years ago. It was crap!
I need gadgets (coincidently I wrote this anno on my mobile!) |
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[mikeoliver], how long did that anno take
you? ten minutes, fifteen? |
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Ten years ago phones had crap range, crap reception, crap clarity, crap battery life, huge costs, weighed two kilos, and no extra features. Now they are cheap, have barrels of extra features, and slightly less crappy reception, clarity and battery life, weight less than 100 grams. I want all the improvements to the basic functions, just not the extra stuff. |
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"[mikeoliver], how long did that anno take you? ten minutes, fifteen?"
You'd think so, however it's almost as quick as doing it on the home pc! |
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[mike] you need to learn how to type then. |
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This is kind-of baked in the new waterproof phones. Few features, great battery life, and minimal buttons. I doubt you'll ever see B/W screens back. DId you want to include an address book? You'd NEVER be able to sell one without that. |
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PS This and most of my annos brought to you by my Moto Q, which has gobs of features and frequently screws up the phone part (M$ wrote the OS, so it need freq reboots). And a long as we are venting on phone features, one that this phone needs is to filter out stupid receivers ring music. |
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"So, you want me to make you a regular
phone...but no camera?"
"Yep, no camera."
"And no high-res display?"
"Yep, no high-res display."
"And no option to change ringtones?"
"Yep."
"And no GPS?"
"That's right, no GPS."
"Well, OK, but with all those custom features it's
going to cost you a fortune." |
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